1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to a control system for group controlled elevators. More specifically, the invention relates to a group controlled elevator control system for controlling the operation of a plurality of elevators when the elevators are running between a plurality of floors.
2. Description of The Prior Art
As a conventional control system for group controlled elevators, there is known a system in which platform call input/output units provided on the respective floors are connected directly to a group control system via transmission lines. When the group control system detects a registered platform call, the group control system outputs a platform call button lighting signal to the platform call input/output unit and outputs an assignment control signal to an operation control unit, to cause the elevators to respond to the registered platform call.
As another conventional control system for group controlled elevators, there is a system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1997-151043. FIG. 16 schematically shows this control system for group controlled elevators.
This conventional control system for group controlled elevators is used for controlling the operation of two elevators from the first floor to the n-th floor. Reference numbers 101 and 102 denote operation control units for controlling the respective elevators. Reference numbers 104 and 105 are platform control units which are provided on the respective floors from the first floor to the n-th floor, respectively. The platform control units 1041 through 104n and 1051 through 105n for the respective floors are connected to each other via a platform transmission relay unit 114 and a platform transmission line 116. The platform control units 1041 through 104n and 1051 through 105n for the respective floors are provided with platform call buttons 108a through 108na, respectively. A platform data, such as a platform call signal, is transmitted to the platform transmission relay unit 114 via the platform transmission line 116, and transmitted from the platform transmission relay unit 114 to a corresponding one of the control units 101 and 102 for the respective elevators via a corresponding one of transmission lines 117 and 118 for the respective elevators. A control data transmitted from the operation control unit 101 is transmitted from the transmission lines 117 and 118 for the respective elevators to the platform control units 1041 through 104n and 1051 through 105n for the respective floors via the platform transmission relay unit 114 and platform transmission line 116.
A group control unit 110 is connected to the respective operation control units 101 and 102 via group control transmission lines 121 and 122, respectively, and connected to the platform transmission relay unit 114 via a transmission line 115. The platform transmission relay unit 114 includes a transmission protocol converter for converting one of protocols into the other protocol in order to adjust a transmission protocol between the respective operation control units 101 and 102 and the platform control units 1041 through 104n and 1051 through 105n for the respective floors. The transmission protocol converter is designed to connect platform call input/output units to the group control unit 110 via the platform transmission relay unit 114 and group control transmission lines 121 and 122 to convert one of transmission protocols into the other transmission protocol to control the registration and assignment of a platform call.
In such a group control system, even if the types of the platform control units 1041 through 104n and 1051 through 105n for the respective floors, which are connected to each other via a serial transmission part, are different or even if the transmission protocol is changed for maintenance, it is possible to surely correspond to the changed transmission protocol, and it is possible to improve the flexibility of platform apparatuses, so that it is possible to unify the platform apparatuses in the same system as well as between different systems.
However, in the above described conventional group controlled elevator control system, the transmission line for a platform call input/output, the transmission line for a lamp for informing of the arrival of an elevator and the assignment of a platform call, and the transmission line for the indication of the position of elevators must be wired in different systems, so that wiring works are large-scale and the term of works is long.
In addition, in order to change a plurality of one-car systems to a group control system during modification works, it is required to greatly change the systems, so that it costs a great deal and it takes a lot of time.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the aforementioned problems and to provide a control system for group controlled elevators capable of easily forming a reliable group control system by connecting platform call input/output units and operation control units on each floor to each other by means of a transmission line of one system every one-car system and by connecting the operation control units to a group control system by means of another transmission line.
In order to accomplish the aforementioned and other objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a group controlled elevator control system for controlling a plurality of elevators by assigning the optimum elevator to a registered platform call, said system comprising: a plurality of platform call input/output units, each of which controls the input/output of a platform call on each floor; a group control unit configured to assigning the optimum elevator to a platform call registered therein; a plurality of operation control units, each of which is provided in each of the elevators, configured to controlling the operation of a corresponding one of the elevators in response to at least an assignment control signal for said platform call; and a transmission line system configured to connecting said platform call input/output units, said operation control units and said group control system to each other, said transmission lime system connecting at least said platform call input/output units and operation control units each other by everyone of said elevators, and all of said operation control units being connected to said group control unit via said transmission line, so that said platform call input/output units are disconnected from said group control unit.
According to the above described group controlled elevator control system, since the platform call is transmitted to the group control unit via the transmission line for connecting the operation control unit to the platform call input/output unit, it is not required to provide a transmission line for connecting the group control system directly to the platform call input/output unit, so that it is possible to easily provide a group control system by combining a plurality of elevators of a one-car construction.
Preferably, said each of operation control units serves for group control means for transmitting signals each other and assigning the optimum elevator to a registered platform call, so that the distributed control system is constructed in place of the group control unit.
The group control system may comprise: means configured to deciding permission to register said platform call on the basis of predetermined information concerning such as non-stopping floor information; and a transmission unit configured to periodically transmitting a decided platform call registration permission signal to all of said operation control units, and each of said operation control units comprises: a transmission unit configured to receiving said platform call signal, which is inputted to said platform input unit provided on each floor, via said transmission line and for transmitting maid plat form input signal to other operation control units and said group control system by a simultaneous multiple address; and control means configured to lighting lamps of platform call buttons on the same floor.
Thus, if the platform call button provided on each floor is pushed, all of lamps of the platform call buttons on the same floor can be turned on, on the basis of information on non-stopping floors and building.
Each of the operation control units may comprise failure detecting means configured to monitoring the status of transmission between said group control unit and a corresponding one of said operation control units to detect a failure therein, wherein said failure detecting means responds directly to said platform call registered by said platform call input unit, with a response being suspended to said assignment control signal, when a failure is detected.
Thus, the status of transmission is monitored, and if the transmission fault occurs, it is possible to directly control the operation of the self-elevator without receiving any instructions from the group control system.
Each of the operation control units may comprise: arithmetic means configured to calculating a transmission time in which a data is transmitted from one of said operation control units to another control unit when said data is received and transmitted between said plurality of operation control units; and means configured to delaying the output of a lighting signal for said lamps of said platform call buttons by said transmission time which is calculated by said arithmetic means.
Thus, the lamps of the platform call buttons can be simultaneously turned on by delaying the lighting so as to compensate the platform call transmission lag.
Each of the operation control units may include means configured to outputting a door opening signal for controlling the opening of a door by a corresponding one of said operation control units without transmitting said platform call input signal to other operation control units and said group control system, when said platform call button connected to the corresponding one of said operation control units having responded to said platform call when said door which is open in response to at least said platform call intends to be closed.
Thus, when the door which has been open in response to the platform call is reopen in response to the platform call, the opening of the door is controlled without returning the platform call input for reopening to other operation control units and the group control system, so that the reaction of the reopening is rapid and the load of the transmission line can be reduced.
The group control elevator control system may further comprise a second transmission line for connecting the plurality of operation control units to each other in addition to a first transmission line for connecting the group control unit to the operation control units, wherein when the failure detecting means detects a failure, the group control unit stops receiving a platform call input signal from the first transmission line, and uses the platform call input signal transmitted from the second transmission line to carry out assignment.
Thus, even if the transmission fault occurs in the first transmission line, the platform call of the system having the transmission fault can be transmitted via the second transmission line to carry out the assignment control, so that it is possible to improve the reliability of the system.
At least adjacent two of the plurality of platform call input/output units on the same floor may be connected to each other as a pair via a back-up transmission line.
Thus, even if one system of the transmission lines for the platform call input/output units fails, it is possible to register the platform call via the transmission line of the other system.